Tea Staining Tutorial # 2307 (and counting)

I make no apologies here.

I know there's a lot of tea staining tutorials out there.

Where would Prim and Shabby Chic be without tea staining?

Ralph Lauren even brought out a tea staining wallpaper glaze.

Hitting the tea is nothing new.

I use tea staining to make fabric 

the right colour for cloth doll bodies

It has its limitations.

I can't get a really dark colour,

which is very limiting,

and I have no control over the end result,

which is very liberating.

On some fabrics (mainly John Lewis curtain lining,

for which I can't find any substitute here in the US)

the tea has a softening effect, 

making the fabric pleasant to handle 

and closer to warm human skin.

This is important to me because I like my dolls to be handled

otherwise they're not dolls;

they're just rather naff dressed figurines.

Sookie. Likes to be handled. Can I say that on a family friendly blog?

Ok

Choosing and using your tea.

So, if you're British, or Ozzie or a Kiwi or Irish,

just drink tea as normal
and throw the used tea bags into a plastic tub.

If you're Southern, make iced tea as normal

and throw the used family sized tea bags
 into a plastic tub.

If you pretend to occasionally sip at tea, 

and think a tea party sounds lovely, 

but you don't actually drink the stuff on a regular basis,

just buy a dollar box of tea bags at your local store.

The cheaper the tea, the paler (and more pink) the outcome.

Good strong tea, like PG Tips, gives a lovely, dark

golden colour on the right fabric.

Now you have the tea bags, and the tea bags are your dye.

You don't need a mordant.

My chemistry is a little vague here,

but I'm assuming that the tannin acts as a mordant.

Choosing and using your fabric.

I only dye pure cotton this way.

Anything polyester would give odd results 

because of polyester's reluctance to take up dye, 

and because I prefer the feel of pure cotton.

First.

Wash and rinse your cotton.

(You probably have a big machine that does just that, right?)

Second

 Fill a big stock pot/pasta pan with

water and the tea bags, 

lots and lots of tea bags,

(at least 10 and up to 50)

and bring to the boil.

Boil.

Boil.

Keep boiling for ten minutes.

Scoop out the tea bags 

or you will get tiny flakes of tea in your fabric

 and they won't come out.

If you have any burst tea bags, 

you will have to pour the dye through a coffee filter.

Third

Turn the pot down to simmer and add the fabric.

(dry or wet, up to you).

IMPORTANT

the pan must be big enough and full enough

for the fabric to move freely, 

or the dye will be uneven.

Don't dye a huge piece.

I usually dye a quarter yard; 

half a yard is the biggest I can put

in my stock pot.

Forth

Let the fabric simmer on a very low heat

for half an hour.

Give it a stir occasionally 

and make sure the fabric is below the surface.

Take it out and check the colour. If it's dark enough

(remember, it will lighten as it is rinsed and dried)

you're done.

If the fabric doesn't seem to be getting any darker,

you're done.

Two different colours, same technique.

Either, let the fabric cool in the pot, 

if you're aiming for as deep a colour as possible.

or take it out while hot if it's the colour you want.
 Rinse until water runs clear.

After rinsing,

I usually put mine in the tumble dryer on hot

just to set the dye.

All this boiling and tumbling is another reason 

why I like to use cotton.

 Iron and then admire your dyed fabric.

The finish isn't just for skin colour. 

It can be used to age patterned fabric for a vintage look, 

or to shift the white background to a creamier colour.
But you already knew that, right?